Mo Farah capped an unforgettable night for British athletics as he produced a storming finish to claim gold in the 10,000 metres Olympic final.

The 29-year-old held his nerve superbly throughout a scrappy race before kicking away from his rivals on the final lap to emerge triumphant in front of an ecstatic crowd inside the Olympic Stadium in London.

Farah's training partner, Galen Rupp of the United States, came through to take silver, with Tariku Bekele of Ethiopia finishing in the bronze medal position.

Farah told BBC1: "I've never experienced something like this, it doesn't come around that often and to have it on your doorstep with that amount of people supporting you and shouting your name...it's never gonna get any better than this. This is the best moment of my life.

"It's just something that I've worked so hard for.

"It's just the grinding and hard work and 120 miles a week, week in, week out and long distance events and what you put into it is what you get out.''

He added: "I want to thank everyone who has supported me from my childhood until now. Without all those people that wouldn't have happened and I've just got to enjoy this moment I guess.''

Farah's decision to move his family to Oregon to be coached by Alberto Salazar has paid massive dividends and Salazar said: "The race plan for Mo and Galen was that we felt they could outsprint anybody in the race and we didn't care if it was a fast race or a slow race or whatever, they weren't going to try and win it until the last 400m, maybe even the last 200m.

"It was a very simple plan, but both of them were faster than they've ever been before. I will be honest, I thought we were going to get a one-two.

"I know that Mo's the best distance runner in the world and I know that Galen's just a step behind him. I was overwhelmed when they crossed the line, it's the greatest feeling I've ever had. Other than getting married and my kids birth I would say this was the best feeling I've ever had in my life.''